If you let go of the rod,
you’ll fall into a river
that always moves towards
something greater.
~Mikavelli~

Why do we need to let go, and how do we move forward from it?

We’ve all gone through the process of letting go and moving forward — whether or not we are aware of it is another issue. But if you are capable of reading, understanding, and possibly even challenging this article, then you have most certainly undergone some form of letting to / moving forward in life.

I know this, because if you can read this, it means you have been educated in some manner. The process of education itself is a journey of letting go and moving on.

We leave kindergarten and let go of a comfort zone filled with toys and joy. We let go of the classmates we were told to call “friends”. We let go of our early childhood and move on to a childhood of primary school education.

In those few years, we learn new information and forget trivial details on a day to day basis. We collect items throughout our childhoods that have some form of meaning. We develop an attachment to these items but are told to throw out or donate old clothes to make room for new ones.

We let go of our “need” for a comfort blanket and move toward the “need” for a duvet to keep warm in the winter. We let go of our desire to have a Playstation and move toward wanting a new phone instead.

Our lives are a continuous process of letting go and moving on — most of the time, we adhere to a system that naturally keeps us flowing in the direction of “forward” because no matter what our choices are, we’re all simply moving towards the future.

When we let go of what we do not need — old clothes that no longer fit, old books we no longer read, old thoughts that no longer have meaning — then we make room to move toward to newer, greater challenges.

We must let go of our pasts to make room for new beginnings, to move toward finding qualities we may once have neglected to appreciate because we were so jaded by our own history.

If we do not let go, we are holding others back from moving forward.

If we do not move forward, we are hindering growth.

We must let go of the old to make room for the new.

Moving forward is simply overcoming speed bumps and hurdles. We need to let go of the starting line and actually run. There is a destination, but we will never see it unless we start moving towards it.

So run. Fly. Soar. Do what you need to do in order to let go.

Your past merely teaches you, it certainly does not define you.

Move forward, and you might just end up redefining yourselves.

Have a great December!

Mikavelli

P.S. For more Reflections, I will be on air with RTHK 4 for the Christmas week. Stay tuned.